Featured 2019 Ford Escape to get plug-in hybrid, plus Expedition SUV hybrid, Lincoln versions too: report

good on ford for not forecasting 2022, now we can hold their feet to the fire.

 

Why does VW say Plug-in hybrids are not favored in USA when FORD has no prob?
Toyota has Mirai so that would give them ZEV credits.

 

they probably don't want to sell them.

 

I test drove a Ford Escape hybrid about 2006 and have a fond memory of its handling and suspension. It 'paved' a truly 'pot hole alley' in my test drive. Just the 28 MPG was not enough to switch from a Gen-1 Prius.

Given electricity miles are half the cost of gas miles in Huntsville, a plug-in Escape would have the economics of ~56 MPG hybrid in a dandy ride. Not as cheap as our 2014 BMW i3-REx or 2017 Prius Prime, still affordable. In effect, around town similar to what I was getting with our former Gen-1 and Gen-3.

Bob Wilson

 

YEA ! ! -



Look at Ford . . . . lighting a fire under the feet of the Prius lineup ...
Ford Escape Energi Plug-In Hybrid Caught Testing - Spy Photos
the race is on . . . .
.

 

looks more like a truck, i hope that's not the final version.

 

It's really a dumb move on Toyota's part that they are not bringing the C-HR hybrid to the USA. While not a plugin, they certianly could have used the platform to develop a plugin version.

I think they missed a big opportunity there!

 

even higher, for buyers typically doing shorter range drives - or if traction packs are larger.
2005 . . . Escape was the 1st suv to ever be hybridized ... loved it!
& just a few months later - (Toyota & Ford cross licensed their tech) Lexus released their RX SUV ... similarly hybridized. The extra tech & luxury was the Cool aid for us.
AWD & epa of 30mpg. Not too shabby.
.

 

VW's attempt at a full hybrid here did not sell well. I blame them for overpricing it, but they might PHEV Audis coming here.

Ford is already committed to full hybrids even without the plug. No details yet on which type the PHEV will be. The 2020 F150 hybrid is supposed to be a parallel like the Ioniq. It likely has an advantage over the power-split in work truck applications. The Expedition/Navigator is a heavy truck, so the parallel setup might be better for them.

Why? So it can look more like a tall wagon with a droopy butt like everybody else?

In the big picture, I don't. Most Americans aren't interested in hybrids, and Toyota can develop a PHEV version if they want at home or Europe, then bring it here. On top of that, the C-HR was originally coming as a Scion, which wasn't going to have any hybrids in the line up.

Damn you Tideland.

 

Sorry but any hybrid w/o a plug-in variant today is stupid.

Bob Wilson

 

Iduno, just because it holds a lot & seats a lot of people, & gets ~100 mpge doesn't necessarily mean it has to look like it has a droopy butt.

does it?

.

 

I think the Mazda tall wagons are sharp, and the wife likes that new Alfa Romeo. The rest are bland.

As someone that would like to pick up a used something with 4WD to access a beach with loose sand, I am disappointed to see most of the SUVs available, well, aren't.

 

A hybrid typically has a the power electronics and an optimized but small battery. Given the rapid reduction in battery costs, adding kWh, even if not co-located with the hybrid battery, it not that hard of a problem.

Bob Wilson

 

Interesting. I didn't know that. Well...hopefully they will wise up and bring the Hybrid version here at some point to compete with the Ford Escapes and Kia Niros of the world ( among others ). Seems like a perfect fit.

 

Volvo plugin suv
Just saw one, when I went out to the employee charger stalls to move my car off to another location. I'll head back out in about a ½ hour & snap some shots. Didn't even know one existed! SUV plugin's ... They're coming!

 

I don't know. A 48V hybrid with a plug would seem stupid.

Adding a plug to a full hybrid without increasing the battery capacity could decrease warm up losses, but an engine block heater could get the same benefit at lower a manufacturer cost.

The problem, as we see in the Prime, is in where to put the larger battery without compromising the usefulness of the model. That said, small battery PHEVs like the PiP can have a future as prices drop. I can see that offering that as an option on the Prius would be more effective, and less costly, at reducing gasoline use than the solar roof option for the Prime. The hurdle is marketing it.

Toyota already has the Rav4 hybrid for that, and it is already doing better than the Niro. Unless our gas prices reach $4 again, I don't see Americans willing the spend the money for a full hybrid on the smaller C-HR.

I believe the Niro might be smaller than the Rav4h, but there might be cost advantages to its parallel system over Toyota's power-split. It also might have advantages over it for heavier duty applications; Ford will be using one in the F150. Toyota appears to be stubborn in their sticking to power-split. The multi-stage hybrid in the new Lexus might actually be their solution to a truck hybrid. It takes the HSD simplicity and throws it out the window, while a parallel system sticks with the known quantity of a traditional transmission.

I thought a moderator here got one a couple years back. Can't remember his name, and I haven't seen him recently, but I think he used a Cylon for the avatar.